News, articles and information about Jewish art, architecture, and historic sites. This blog includes material to be posted on the website of the International Survey of Jewish Monuments (www.isjm.org).

The Jewish Museum in New York is opening an exhibit of medieval religious manuscripts from the Bodleian Library at Oxford College in
England. The Museum
will present Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries
from September 14, 2012 through February 3, 2013. This exhibition will
feature over 60 Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin manuscripts, the
majority of which have never been seen in the United States. The works range in date from the third century to the late sixteenth. This exhibition is based on Crossing Borders: Hebrew Manuscripts as a Meeting-place of Cultures
co-curated by Piet van Boxel and Sabine Arndt for The Bodleian Library.
The New York City presentation has been organized by The Jewish
Museum’s Curator Claudia Nahson.

Included in the exhibit will be the
Kennicott Bible, created in Spain in 1476 and considered one of the most
richly illustrated existing manuscripts of its era. Two works in the hand
of Maimonides, one of the most prominent Jewish philosophers and
rabbinic authorities will also be on view. This exhibit continues a tradition of spectacular multi-cultural and ecumenical exhibits of medieval religious works begun (if my memory serves) with the exhibition Convivencia in 1992. For scholars, and for a lay audience too, it is important to view works of art in their broad cultural context. This exhibit will also show the religious and philosophic links between works of Jewish, Muslim and Protestant Christian theologians. - SDG

The following information is adapted from materials supplied by The Jewish Museum

The exhibit showcases a selection from the
Bodleian’s world-renowned holdings within the larger context of the history of
medieval Christian Hebraism – the study by Christian scholars of the
Hebrew Bible and rabbinic sources, which first received full expression
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. As Protestantism took hold in
the sixteenth century, Hebraist trends resurged, sparking interest in
the collecting of Hebrew books, and propelling the formation of the
Bodleian’s outstanding Hebraica collection.

Scholar and diplomat Sir Thomas
Bodley began establishing the Bodleian Library in 1598 after retiring
as ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I and devoted the rest of his life to
building its collection. Bodley reopened the library room at
Oxford that had been completed in 1488 to house a collection of
manuscripts given by Duke Humfrey of Gloucester (1390-1447). But in 1550
during the Reformation, it was stripped and left abandoned. A staunch
Protestant, whose family had fled England during Queen Mary’s Catholic
reign, Bodley was also a humanist and Christian Hebraist who viewed the
creation of a Hebraica collection as integral to his vision for the new
library. It would be housed in a masterpiece of English Gothic and
Jacobean architecture, and is today one of the oldest libraries in
Europe.

Composed of three thematic sections, the exhibition
will open with three beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscripts representing
the main European centers of medieval production—Ashkenaz
(Franco-German origin), Sepharad (Spanish or Portuguese origin) and
Italian. The first section covers the early dissociation between
Christianity and Judaism to later medieval Christian attempts at finding
common ground with Judaism. Reinforcing the early separation between
the two faiths, Christians began using the codex or book while Jews held
fast to the roll format. Leaves of the codex could be used on both
sides and be made more portable, unlike scrolls, and thereby accelerated
the propagation of Christianity.

On view will also be one of the two earliest
Latin Gospel Books extant from the British Isles, dating to the late 6th
or 7th century, and one of the earliest known Hebrew codices. By the
middle of the 12th century, Christian scholars began seeking out learned
Jews to explain readings of the Hebrew Bible and, by the 13th century,
actively studied the language, consulting original Hebrew texts in an
effort to better understand the Scriptures.

A great
cross-fertilization between Christians, Muslims and Jews occurred during
the late Middle Ages in arts, sciences and the culture at large, which
is the focus of the second section. Significant works by Greek, Muslim
and Jewish authors were translated from Arabic to Latin, often with the
help of Jewish scholars. Writings of famous ancient Greek thinkers like
Aristotle, Hippocrates, Euclid and Ptolemy were suddenly available,
making a world of ideas accessible to many in Europe for the first time.
The most famous work in the show, the magnificent Kennicott Bible, is
displayed in this section with its Islamic, Christian and popular motifs
merging in one single work. A Jewish scribe and a Jewish artist created
this beautifully illuminated manuscript in Corunna, Spain in 1476,
almost two decades before the expulsion of the Jews from the Iberian
Peninsula.

The final section is devoted to understanding the
Bodleian’s Hebraica collection as an important sign of Christian
Hebraism’s resurgence in the 16th century. Some of the most exceptional
examples of Hebrew manuscripts anywhere, all with stellar provenances,
demonstrate the library’s more than four-century-long commitment to
Hebraica. Nicholas Hilliard’s exquisite miniature portrait of Sir Thomas
Bodley is paired with George Gower’s stunning 1579 portrait of Queen
Elizabeth I (reigned, 1558–1603) during whose rule the library was
established. A great treasure is Queen Elizabeth’s Book of Oxford
presented to the Queen in 1566 upon her visit to Oxford. This book
opens with a poem on the importance of Hebrew learning encouraging the
Queen to continue the work of her father, Henry VIII, in supporting the
study of the language at the university. And so it has been for over 450
years through a royally endowed position that ensures the study of
Hebrew and Jewish culture and religion to this day.

The cross-cultural approach presented in Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries
is very much in the spirit of Thomas Bodley’s founding vision for his
library. In his time as today, it transcends ideological and religious
boundaries to create a broader framework within which the rich legacy of
Christians, Muslims, and Jews can be better understood.

Leadership support for Crossing Borders: Medieval Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries
is provided by the David Berg Foundation. Generous support is provided
by The Achelis Foundation and the Joseph Alexander Foundation, with
additional in-kind support from George S. Blumenthal. This presentation
is made possible with endowment support from The Jewish Museum
Centennial Exhibition Fund and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
Exhibition Fund.

About The Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford
The
Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford form the largest
university library system in the United Kingdom. They include the
principal University library—the Bodleian Library—which has been a
library of legal deposit for 400 years; major research libraries; and
libraries attached to faculties, departments and other institutions of
the University. The combined library collections number more than 11
million printed items, in addition to 30,000 e-journals and vast
quantities of materials in other formats. The Old Bodleian is also a
major visitor attraction, drawing over 300,000 visitors a year. More
information about the Bodleian Libraries and their activities can be
found at www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

About The Jewish Museum
Widely
admired for its exhibitions and collections that inspire people of all
backgrounds, The Jewish Museum is one of the world’s preeminent
institutions devoted to exploring the intersection of art and Jewish
culture from ancient to modern times. The Jewish Museum organizes a
diverse schedule of internationally acclaimed and award-winning
temporary exhibitions as well as dynamic and engaging programs for
families, adults, and school groups. The Museum was established in
1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core of a museum
collection. Today, a collection of 26,000 objects is maintained –
paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological
artifacts, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media. The collection is
among the three largest of its kind in the world and is distinguished by
its breadth and quality. It is showcased in the vibrant, two-floor
permanent exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, examining the Jewish experience as it has evolved from antiquity to the present.

General Information
The
Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York
City. Museum hours are Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11am to
5:45pm; Thursday, 11am to 8pm; and Friday, 11am to 4pm. Museum
admission is $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for senior citizens, $7.50 for
students, free for children under 12 and Jewish Museum members.
Admission is free on Saturdays. For information on The Jewish Museum,
the public may call 212.423.3200 or visit the website at TheJewishMuseum.org.

1 comment:

I am in Spain and Portugal this month and have seen some stunning medieval manuscripts. But nothing written in Hebrew sofar. All the Iberian Jewish manuscripts seemed to have left the region centuries ago.72

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This blog provides news and opinion articles about Jewish art, architecture and historic sites - especially those where something new is happening. Developed in connection with news gathering for the International Survey of Jewish Monuments website (www.isjm.org), this blog highlights some of the most interesting Jewish sites around the world, and the most pressing issues affecting them.